Toward Post-Capitalist Cities? Reporting Back From The Global Social Economy Forum 2016

“In the US, it’s not uncommon to think about cooperatives and non-profit social enterprise as something wholly outside the realm of conventional politics. Yet, in many parts of the world, and increasingly in some corners of the US, government, especially at the local level, plays a critical role in supporting ecosystems of enterprises that are structured to put people and planet before profit.

This relationship between local governments and the social economy, was the focus of the Global Social Economy Forum, which took place earlier this month in Montreal, Quebec, a province where roughly 7% of the workforce is employed by a co-op or non-profit business and where public investment in the sector hovers around $100 Million CAD annually.

Organized as a partnership between the Montreal Mayor’s Office and the Chantier D’ Le Economie Sociale, the forum brought together over 1300 people from 330 cities in 63 countries including more than 40 mayors.

Coming from a US context, where social, solidarity, or new economy efforts tend to be very grassroots, the size and public profile of the event was truly impressive. GSEF flags lined the Boulevard Rene-Levesque and the nation’s most prominent french-language TV business show hosted an hour-long special on the social economy from the conference center.

The forum served multiple functions. At times it was an opportunity for elected officials to recount their achievements in supporting social and solidarity economies or for the announcement of new initiatives such as the C.I.T.I.E.S learning platform. Other moments facilitated exchange and learning between governmental and community actors from around the world. Still others were focused on making a statement to the international community, encapsulated in the GSEF2016 Declaration, about the importance of social economy strategies to the goals of sustainable development.

Despite the size of the gathering and it’s North American location, participation from the United States was low at fewer than 30 people.

CURATED BY

Vasilis Niaros

Vasilis (Billy) Niaros is a Research Fellow at the Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA) of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. He is also a Core Member of the P2P Lab and a Member of the P2P Foundation. His research work is related to commons transitions at the city level with an emphasis on makerspaces and the use of local manufacturing technologies.